Privacy and the database state in the news

Privacy and the database state in the news

Daily Archives: September 7, 2015

Last month we learnt that government officials were planning a digital ‘vault’. Entirely unlike the National Identity Register the ‘vault’ would store people’s addresses, phone numbers, tax details, where they are registered to vote, driving records and benefit claims, as well as information about their mortgages, pensions and bank accounts. The scheme would be voluntary, although probably in about the same way as agreeing to a credit check is voluntary e.g. not if you ever want a financial service again. An on-line poll hosted by the Telegraph says that 82% of people wouldn’t sign up to such a service. Of course we all know on-line polls are not really that representative of public opinion, but it isn’t surprising that people might have some issue with all their financial details being stored in a single place. Even those in the ‘nothing to hide’ camp who don’t grasp the dangers of surveillance will have […]